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First Up

UPDATED 27/08/2025 09:51

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Market Matters Reporting Calendar: Australian FY25 Reporting Calendar in PDF Here & Spreadsheet Here

I’m off on the APEX Outback Postie bike ride today through the Flinders Ranges, raising money for charity. Thank you to all our wonderful members that have donated – it’s much appreciated. For those that would like to (no pressure at all), you can do so by clicking here. We’re nearly at $16k, going to a wonderful cause, with a target of $25k. Thanks again. James

The ASX200 retreated 0.4% on Tuesday, struggling from the get-go after Wall Street’s weakness on Monday night. Almost 60% of the market retreated, with losses concentrated in the materials and utilities sectors, although both were only down around 1%. With the local reporting season coming to its conclusion, investors are looking for a catalyst to propel the local index above 9000. Still, after a mixed and volatile reporting season, we cannot see one in the near future and favour some choppy consolidation after the markets’ 25% rally from the April lows.

The ASX200’s close below 8950 triggered a short-term technical change from bullish to neutral for MM.

This has been a brutal reporting season, much like 1H results in February, with many well-known companies tumbling 15-20% if they dared disappoint. Conversely, beats generally rewarded shareholders with only 8-10% moves, not great risk/reward. Investors caught with some of the season’s big losers, like CSL, Reece, ASX, Inghams, Sonic Healthcare, and James Hardie, have to decide whether to Sell, Hold, or Buy (average).

Yesterday, Asian markets also underperformed the ASX, with the Nikkei down 1% and the Hang Seng off 1.2%, more than double the decline of the local market. Sentiment soured after President Trump became the first U.S. President to attempt to remove a sitting Federal Reserve Governor, announcing plans to fire Lisa Cook over unproven mortgage fraud allegations. The unprecedented move has heightened fears of political interference in the Fed, raising the risk of a compromised central bank already under pressure in 2025. It follows Trump’s recurring hints at forcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell to resign, underscoring the growing tension between the White House and the Fed – it didn’t take long for US equities to shrug off the latest move by the President.

Overseas markets were mixed overnight, with US stocks shrugging off concerns about interactions between Trump and the Fed. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 closed up +0.4%, with heavyweight Nvidia adding another +1.1% ahead of its much-anticipated result tomorrow. In Europe, French assets came under pressure for a second day as investors worried the government would fall in a showdown over proposed budget cuts. The French CAC closed 1.7% lower, and the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 1.1%.